Frogfucius

That's true, Jesus was radical, dogmatic, and harsh with his teachings. But...he was on to something that few people in his society realized at the time. And he sacrificed his own life for the "greater good" of humanity. I guess that's why he became so romanticized after his death. I do wonder how he began his spiritual journey. Did he become enlightened naturally? Or did he travel abroad and learned about spirituality from the east, and then saw through the bullshit of the egoistic, dogmatic customs of Judaism practiced at the time? There's no way to ever know, but it's fun to speculate.

It's the same concept as focusing on the breath, or heartbeat, or sound, or sight. I believe the idea is to get you out of your head, and start noticing external sensations. I have found that when I focus on my breath during meditation, when I am out doing errands or whatever, I can focus on my breath and it relaxes me and gets me out of my head. It increases my awareness. That may be the idea.

I would say not. If you're shy ( as opposed to just being an introvert - there's a difference), you probably suffer from anxiety. Mixing perception-altering chemicals with anxiety is a big no-no. Your mind has to be ready for this kind of stuff, otherwise it's not going to do much for you, aside from give you a panic attack which will only make things worse. Having a "proper trip" isn't a reality until your mind is ready. I haven't taken the stuff, so I could be completely wrong.

Or any other enlightened master. Pure benevolence. When you're enlightened, your empathy levels are maxed out. You feel others' pain as your pain. When you're on the path to enlightenment, you really wish the word was capable of freeing themselves from self-inflicted suffering, but you realize it's fruitless. People are far too attached to their self-identity, as you once were. You don't judge them for it, but you love them as yourself. Also, every living being and everything in nature becomes a part of you. You love everything as you would yourself. It's the most purest form of love..no attachments, just pure bliss.

I contemplate existence so much that I'm starting to see everything as programmed and robotic. When I see other people, I see underneath the layer of skin and bone... I see the brain, reacting to stimuli to give a meaning and message from the outside world. The brain isn't creating these reactions, but are being input by externals. The brain is processing information through limited senses and through prior experiences. It's just so bizarre to my ego. For all I know, the idea of life isn't real at all. Maybe we're in a simulation created by more intelligent beings. Maybe the universe is infinite and going through every kind of motion possible. Maybe my consciousness is just a dream formulated from nothing. I don't know anything anymore, I don't even know if I even qualify as a living being if I control absolutely nothing. I'm just a complex finite system existing in infinite space. But I'm okay with that. It's kind of peaceful.

I read somewhere that animals experience a more vivid existence than humans, because they live almost purely through their senses. It said that because of the development of civilization and a cognitive mind, human senses have dulled over time. It makes sense. Humans are lost in their minds almost every waking moment, but animals are only ever focused on externals. What do you think?

@Mercy Everything is a paradox. How did something come out of nothing? Are we something or are we nothing? How did consciousness come from unconscious particles? Don't focus too much on life's paradoxes, just roll with what works for you. If you want to pursue your worldly dreams and become a success, then go for it. There's nothing wrong with that, you'll just be a little less conscious, and suffer a little (or a lot, depending on your mind patterns) more from your emotions and thoughts than the enlightened person. You could also have both - be a success in the world, build your dreams, and also be enlightened. They're not mutually exclusive. Your idea that you're socially awkward and that is holding you back from getting a job is such a low-conscious mental barrier, I'd work on tackling something like that first. Action coupled with awareness of your mind can get you far with overcoming that hurdle. Take baby steps. Life isn't a rush to the finish line. You'll figure out which path you want to go in time.

Animals experience everything as it is. Man does not, because his mental abstractions and ego get in the way. Animals are more in-tune with the fundamental nature of existence than man, because they are incapable of conceptualizing it. That said, some animals are capable of empathy, they do have a sense of self, and may even act altruistically. Whales and dolphins have been known to protect stray seals, and have also been known to commit suicide. I'd say the more complex the mind, the more conscious the animal. The more conscious the animal, the more they associate with mind patterns. But then they become less in-tune with their fundamental existence, which could be psychologically harmful for the individual... I don't know, I'm just throwing thoughts out here.

No, because even from point of view to point of view, there is still no definite good or bad. If ego is bad from a human's perspective, and there are definite 'good and bads', then the development of civilization is bad. The development of language is bad. Everything that enabled an evolution of the ego is bad.

There is nothing right or wrong about anything... Our fascination with music and art go hand-in-hand with our capabilities of recognizing symbols, abstraction, and patterns. It's not much different than our ability of recognizing complex verbal and written languages. Are you going to say language is wrong?

@FindingPeace Yes, exactly. To say animals are not conscious, aware, or present is simply false. If you ever observe an animal, they're just as reactive to stimuli as humans. If not more so, since they don't have mental distractions. Their reflexes and senses are extremely sharp, with no mind, which shows they're perhaps more present than humans. Now, we are more conscious than all other animals because of our capabilities for deep abstract thought. But that also takes us out of presence and awareness.. hence why animals may be more aware than humans, and experience existence far more vividly and intensely with the external environment. It's a far simpler existence, but what's wrong with that?

I've noticed in the past that when I'm in deep meditation, I'll hear a ringing or buzzing sound in my head/ears. When I noticed it, it would usually go away. Now, I can make the sound come at will, and focus on the ringing. It feels like it's always there, and I can access it at any point. It doesn't feel harmful, it doesn't hurt my ears, and I'm not losing my hearing..just wondering what this sensation is. Is it me being more aware of sounds going on around me?

You're becoming more conscious. That's a good thing. Keep at it. Only greater things will come.

Losing your identity is the scariest thing for your ego. But..don't wait to experience this. There is only one truth, and you can experience it NOW! What if you die tomorrow? What if you never feel you're ready? Merging with reality is the most awesome thing you can experience, it's more fulfilling than any low conscious form of pleasure you enjoy.

I'll just stick to conventional 'methods'... It's more fun that way. It's Me vs. Myself in a neverending battle. How epic would the hero journey be if I just took a potion and conquered all evil? Then again, that seemed to happen a lot in Dragon Ball Z, lol. But seriously, I've had bad experiences with even the weakest of mind-altering substances. I've had 'enlightenment experiences' just driving around in my car, or working on the computer at my job. Although they were very brief, I think I have it in me to not lose track. Although yes, giving an "ego begone" pill to the majority of humanity would be delightful, for the sake of our world, for mankind, and for the collective consciousness of the universe.

@Progress Of course action is needed, I never implied otherwise. You can't steal 2nd base while keeping your foot on 1st. But if you're scared to steal 2nd, you're letting your mind fuck you over. If you learn to become aware that your mind is fucking you, you're far less reactive to the negative thought patterns, meaning you're more apt to brush aside any negative constructs. They go hand and hand, absolutely. I'm not saying don't take action. There's an old saying - if you zen out all day, they'll just come and take your furniture. On the same token, you need to slooooooow your reactive ways to your mind. At least, that's how it was for me. Awareness and becoming present was far more healing for me than constant action. Yes, action got me results, but I still didn't feel good inside. I still felt like a pile of shit, even when I did nothing wrong, and actually accomplished something. I wish I took the awareness route first, it would have saved me a lot of neuroses based reactions.

@Progress Thinking too much is exactly the problem! Meditation slows your thinking patterns, especially your negative ones. You learn to not listen to that nagging voice in your head, and you come from a place of authenticity. You gain awareness. Yes, in order to become social, you need to get out there and interact. But I'm saying that should come after you have purged that little demon in your head, and act from a place of complete authenticity. The "Action, action, action" mentality may work for people who already have a strong foundation, but odds are, anyone who needs help with shyness needs to get to the root of it. By meditating, you focus on the present moment, and are able to become aware of your thoughts and bodily sensations. You learn not to panic or fall into the same thought stories. So when you're out in public, maybe feeling a little shy, you are able to come into the present moment, accept your body reacting how it is, but you don't judge it. The feelings will pass, but you never lose awareness. Watch Leo's video "Awareness alone is curative" This is spiritual teaching 101. Unwanted behaviors can become healed through awareness.

Socializing can just make the person feel even more awkward. It might help for a while, but the homeostasis is going to find its way right back to being shy. For something as deeply layered as shyness, you have to work yourself from the inside first. External circumstances change for people all the time, but those never address the issue. They can mask it for a certain time, but the problem is still rooted deep down inside. For example, a guy who feels lonely, so he the joins pickup community. He may meet and sleep with a bunch of girls, but he eventually learns that it's not fulfilling him and he's still lonely. That's just one example. Another example would be people who have been impoverished their whole lives, and suddenly become rich, either through lottery or becoming a professional athlete. They're suddenly rich, problem solved right? Well what happens? A decade or two down the line, the same people have squandered all of their money and are broke again. For shyness, that's why I say do internal work first, cleanse all of the baggage. Once you don't have your mind nagging you or bringing you down, you'll naturally become more confident, and it will show externally. You can take action and do whatever you want to do from there, without adding fuel to your neuroses.

Meditation.

Not at all. But if you NEED socializing to be happy, then you're not truly happy. The purpose is to remove the need... Even the need to live. It sounds extreme, but you can still want things. But it makes no difference if you have it or not.

When you go on this journey, the need for socializing decreases. There are ways to become fulfilled without socializing. If you need social activity to become fulfilled, then you're really not a happy person. Same thing if you need drugs, excitement, love, etc. We are animals with basic animalistic needs, but our minds are far more deeper and complex than all other animals. We can find ways to enjoy life 100% without using our chimpanzee minds. No other animal is capable of going on a journey of finding their true selves, so they're stuck living for their basic animalistic needs.

So, I've been doing spiritual work for over 3 months now. I've been making almost every waking moment of not using my cognitive mind, as a form of meditation and self-inquiry. For the most part, it has healed a lot of emotional turmoil...but now things are getting heavy. I'll be at peace, then something will come up. I made a topic recently how I was suffering from DP/DR. That went away, and complete peace arisen for a while. Now there's a new drawback. I'm starting to question everything now. Reality, what I know, existence, the purpose of life, my own mind, God, and so on. To coincide with this, I'm having intense emotional displays. For example, I'll focus on something in my field of vision, such as an object or sunlight, and then start crying. And then an hour later or so, I'll feel euphoric, and start laughing uncontrollably over nothing at all. It feels like I'm high, and it's the best feeling in the world. I looked up this phenomenon and came across this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudobulbar_affect Am I losing my mind? Am I creating a chemical imbalance in my brain by doing all of this non-stop self-inquiry and questioning of reality? Should I stop all of this before I go deeper into a rabbit hole? I can become easily distracted in the world again, but at what cost? I thought I was on the right track of enlightenment work..is this just par for the course, or am I doing something wrong? Feedback is much appreciated.

You were nothing before you were born, you will be nothing after you die. Go ahead - try and remember existence before you were fully conscious. You won't find anything. Right now, you're just a perceiver of experiences and sensations. You are the universe experiencing itself, masquerading in some physical body and mind. You have no control over it, and that's the way it must be. Why are humans naturally fascinated by nature, stars, the universe, science, philosophy, God? Deep down, you know you're connected to it all, but your ego is clouding the view.

There's nothing to achieve. You already have it, and there are different ways to find it. Presence, meditation, self-inquiry, contemplation are basic practices on finding your true self. But people who are poor, sick, injured, in great suffering, dying etc. can also find it through more natural means. As long as you're distracted by your ego, your identity, your obsession with worldly and materialistic pursuits, you're not going to find it. You basically have to give up everything in order to find it..and as Eckhart always talks about, most people are sucked into the concept of time; of past and future. If you're absorbed in past and future, there's no way you can find your true self. You're still seeing your existence as a concept, as some idea that you have created. That's something that has to be shed to find your true being.

Haha, I don't know. Most I could do is dive back into mundane, worldly distractions...but you're right, probably not feasible. Oh well.